Summer Heat:  August 6th….humans across the planet are roasting. The heat shows no sign of letting up…in fact it is worsening. San Diego is nice along the coast but yesterday afternoon the ocean water temp was 75 degrees, way too warm. Jerry Coleman predicted this…only thing is he called it the normal cycles of the planet. Al Gore predicted this…and he called it man made. You decide….maybe both are happening at once??

The California Homeless and the Governor Browns “fake train”: I used to like Jerry Brown. He went to Cal and so did I. He was leaning toward the ministry and so was I. He spoke his mind and so did I. I thought we had things in common but he changed. I changed too. He recently suckered Californians to approve a 32 billion dollar bond to fund a bullet train from Sacramento to LA.  Four years later the 32 billion is gone….no train, no tracks, and not even a few bullets for the effort. Meanwhile last night 47,000 homeless people slept on the streets of Los Angeles. Democrat waste…..we could have solved the homeless problem with those billions….just thinking.

Lobbyists: I met a lobbyist from Kansas City yesterday. She has her own small lobby firm. She is a dedicated democrat, an eager lobbyist. Lobbying is big business…big money.  Very nice young woman, very smart, very deluded about POTUS….and about the fact the entire lobby system is corruption legalized. The worst lobbist of late is General Flynn. Retired Generals have no business representing foreign governmets to our Senators and Representatives. Shame on General Flynn….not to mention the fact the Turkish government is tyranical,evil, and anti western values. “Core Values” Sir?

California Burning: The California fires are out of control and growing. The heat and winds are not letting up. California has just been given Federal funding declaring it a state of emergency. So far not too many structure lost. Pray for our brave firefighters and pray for rain.

School Shootings:  The recent school shooting in Texas is another senseless tragedy. Our prayers and thoughts go out to the families and those affected by this evil act. The need here is for school districts and communitities to begin to decipher the common threads in all of these shootings. The guns are there yes, but what are the triggers and other things that cause these kids to get a gun and commit these evil acts? We need to look beyond the guns and we may begin to start to understand how we can prevent more tragedies in the future.

Video Games…A Troubing Causal Ingredient Ignored:  The educators, law enforcement, mental health professionals, and the government must stop ignoring the clear link between violent video games and school shootings. Where do kids with problems go to escape from the bullying, stress, and pain? They turn to their games. The video games our current middle and high school kids are playing are “virtual”, which is to say life like, and often involve team playing with complete strangers. You may think your kid is playing a harmless game but in reality he or she may be on line with adults who are using vulgarity, promoting hate, and getting inside the heart and soul of the player.

It is a travesty that for the past few years this issue has not been raised in the public square. New organizations, often linked corporatly to the gaming industry, do not speak about this catalyst when their anchors solemnly talk about a school shooting on in their newscast. Like pot of the current day, video games are not what they were when we were kids. They are potent, addicting, and a threat to the mental and physical health of any young person using them.

Love Is A Great Joy To Have:  There is a secret that most do not understand, even though they experiece it at times throughout their lives. The common perception is that to have the joy of love….one must be loved.  The exact opposite is the case…to find the true joy of love…. one must love! To give love is the greatest freedom a human being can experience. It brings one closest to the Spiritual truth and allows for a peace that we all seek in life. So if you seek true joy….start loving.

True Love: ” Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly;  it does not speak it’s own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails….”  I Cor.13: 4-8

Tim Tebow: We are all rooting for Tim Tebow to be promoted from AA ball to AAA ball in the Mets organization. He is tearing the cover off the ball and do not be surprised if you see him in right field for the Mets before the end of this season. Go Tebow!

Travis Jankowski: Speaking of right fielders Travis Jankowski it killing it for the San Diego Padres. He is batting 360 as a lead off hitter, is a gold glove outfielder, and steals bases like takinig candy from a baby. Nice to see this kid excel…now we will probably watch the Padres trade him, which is what they normally do with their best players. Go Travis!

The Federal Bureau of Investigation: The scandal is not with the Trump collusion but with the FBI colluding with the Clinton campaign. FBI….investigate yourself, do your job, stop the Mueler deflection of attention. So sad to see what really took plalce. Mueller, Comey, and all the rest of that leadership group should be indicted!

The idea that young people who bring guns to school and do evil deeds is the result of our first amendment rights to own guns is profoundly simplistic and plain wrong. The left, to include the media, school administrations, Hollywood stars, and anti NRA groups immediately jump on the opportunity to push for gun control after one of these terrible shootings. There is little logic in their arguments that banning a particular non semi automatic gun, or eliminating second ammedment rights will prevent future school shootings.

Honesty is needed if we want to stop school shootings. They do not happen in a vacuum. There are almost always tell tale signs and indications if people are paying attention to troubled young students. Hollywood liberals who seize on this issue with the same tenaciousness as a dog grabbing a bone seek to appear both compassionite and our all knowing guides.  Their hypocracy and simplistic thinking is only exceeded by their huge egos.

Everything known about childhood education from early on and into the teen years is that what happens to children along the way to adult hood while they are in their formative years has a profound impact on their success in social, educational, and peer settings. Early negative experiences and inputs have a tremendous impact on their mental health development.

So what do we know about young peoples habits that has a tremendous impact on those who are struggling with the social stresses of the teen years. We know that most kids play video games and that a very large number of young boys from age seven or eight up play violent war games with shooting and killing being the main focus of the game. They play these games hours on end. There are gaming sites where they go on line and play with strangers interacting in real like war scenes. Not only are these young people exposed the game, they are exposed the interaction of the other players who they do not know and who are verbalizing extreme language and violent comments during the games.

Now any honests social scientist, psychologist, psychiatrist, medical doctor, or educator will tell you a constant imput of this type of violent escape video play is dangerous. They will also tell you it is extrmely dangerous for a young person with mental and social stresses. Often times escaping into the game is a way to deal with the life stresses these young people are feeling. The violent games only compound the problem.

It is not far stretch to see a troubled young person eventually acting out violently after growing up with an every day shooting and killing experience while escaping to their video game or groups site.

Visit the Best Buy home page as only one example, and take a look at the games listed. There are many games under the action category that are listed NR…”no rating”. The problem we are having with school shootings is not with the guns. The problem we are having is we as a society, are unwilling, or just too plain dumb, to call out the self defined caring left wing liberals and hollywood and gaming business types to stop producing and selling these mind damaging movies and games to our youth. And frankly we as a society are also participating and enjoying the very violent games and movies that are the basic root cause of all school shootings.

Mental Health professionals have been silent on these matters and it is a big shame on their profession. Ban the guns….no we must ban the games!

Missing the Point…..Labeling Officers Cowards: There is so much wrong with arm chair media, politicians, and anyone with a voice ripping these Officers by calling them cowards. They failed to aggressively go forward toward the shooting for whatever reasons. We will hear their answers as to why they waited. They could have been fearfully frozen in place to be sure.  However, for a person sitting on a studio couch, or standing behind a microphone, and declaring them guilty of cowardice is seeking to fix blame for a tragedy that should not have happened in the first place.  Were they cowards? It is possible, however there is much we need to learn as to time lines and also what they have to say. The coward label could be levied by some, but most people hurling these attacks would likely have hunkered down, not charged into the building.

The Initial Police On Scene Lacked Training: The obvious thing to me is that these officers, at the very least, lacked solid training for this type of situation. Their failure to aggressively enter the building was due to their lack of knowing what to do, or if they knew what to do they had not been sufficiently trained so they did it automatically.  The military trains and trains and trains for combat so that when soldiers are in life and death situations they go on automatic. No time to think, wonder, or fear…it is time to act. These officers clearly lacked that kind of consistent training.

FBI Failure: This was a no brainer for the FBI. They had a solid report of a school shooter threat and they failed to follow up on it. I will only say I wish the FBI would spend some time investigating itself and stop worrying about Russian collusion, election rigging, and foreign influences. The head of the FBI for the past several years was James Comey. Who is responsible for the culture and the failings of the FBI? James Comey. If these leads were mishandled, overlooked, and possibly ignored maybe we should put Mr. Comey in the cross hairs for the blame of this tragedy. The FBI seems to have forgotten their true policing role.

The Blame the NRA Game: Once again we are learning so much about this tragedy and the person who put such evil down in that school. We have yet to hear how this 19 year old, who was identified as a real threat to shoot up the school, even got his weapons and ammunition. We need better background checks, maybe an age limit for buying guns of 21 years old. (The exception would be anyone over 18 serving in the United States Military who passes a background check could buy a gun). There were so many red flags on this person and yet he still was able to buy guns. The focus of the needed changes is less about the gun rules and more about how to fix the system that let this young man avoid scrutiny and arrest prior to this shooting.

Real Heroes Were Present That Day: The stories of teachers shielding students and some losing their lives in the process is incredible. The bravery and self sacrifice of those who gave their lives trying to save the kids is medal of honor stuff! They were our best and bravest to be sure.

The Puerto Rico Fix: Puerto Rico has a population of around 3 million people. The debt for the island will require bankruptcy. The people of the island must vote for statehood.  Failure to do this will result in the banks sitting on the island until international development takes place. At that point the population will fall even more and they will lose their island and all the natural beauty there. A tough pill to take but it is the only way they will keep their homeland. They also need to remember…..they are an island!

The Cuba Transformation: Destined to become the tourist jewel of the Caribbean. The changes are happening in lighting speed. Unlike Puerto Rico the people there are going to take those developer dollars. In fifteen years Cuba will look like a much prettier, and more enticing Miami. They do not need to remember they are an island….they know it and will take the benefits! The Castro period will be a dim memory in ten years.

The Stupid Funny Question:  ….did President Trump try to fire Robert Mueller last June? All we have heard since Trump left of the economic summit in Davo Switzerland was there was new bombshell evidence that he wanted to fire Mueller last June. The reports ridiculously suggest this the “gotcha proof” the President obstructed justice. Such a pile of baloney I have never heard. The whole thing was to take the focus off the reality of Davos…Trump was big hit and he pushed the benefits of doing business with, and in, America. In other words he was selling our countries’ benefits to the elite in Davos. Such dung on CNN and all the other liberal news outlets. Such a sham they all are. There was no obstruction, collusion, corruption, or election hijacking. I ask the American worker to look at their pay stub this month….that should be enough for them to see the lies for what they are. Trump is no politician….he is a tough and tumble businessman who knows what is best for his country and for the American people.

Help With My Book: I brought on two interns this weekend to help me with the book. Yogi and Boo Boo. They are four month old tabby cats and were born on Camp Pendleton on 9/11/2017. The have assured me they are not liberals and lean toward conservative cat ideas. Their contribution will be to catch mice and gophers and to provide that relaxed environment that animals give when they are sleeping on the chair or the floor or the table…..or at this point everywhere else in the house. How long will they be high energy kittens????

The Tax Bill…the good, the bad, the ugly: 

The Good: Ivanka Trump today said the new tax reforms will ultimately end the national debt…zero it out…nada…all gone. She did not give a time period for this tremendous positive result to happen….we can hope for soon, eh?  Many financial experts support this bill for a variety of reasons. Corporate tax benefits big time yes, but…..trickle down jobs, salary increases, and financial growth for small business, are all in the hope column too. Not to mention the return of companies and jobs that had fled due to the highest corporate tax in the world, excessive regulations, and the gains from low off shore labor costs. The positive view is these changes will not make everyone happy in the beginning but ultimately it will make the economy soar with more jobs, higher wages and benefits, and, as Ivanka said….the ultimate elimination of our trillion dollar debt.

The Bad: CNN and the rest of the liberal media (FNN) have painted this bill as the biggest corporate swindle ever. They claim it will raise taxes for the middle class…which is both true and false depending on what state you reside in. They claim it will damage the economy by adding to the national debt due to the huge corporate tax reductions. They cynically say President Trump made this happen mainly for his own corporate benefits. They also claim the bill will so reduce tax revenues the most needy of the society will face cuts and shortages of support. They fail to give any credence to the statistics that support the claims of the supporters that these short term costs will be negated by huge economic gains, just around the corner.

The Ugly:  Americans today live in the disinformation age. The media….is biased, I mean really, extremely, biased. The bottom line is, if you get your news from left networks, and or the internet, you will be consuming intellectual swill most of the time. If you get your news from Fox you will only be consuming swill about half the time. The only way to kind of figure out what is true is to watch all the networks. If you do this, after awhile, you begin to easily see lies, manipulations, and just bull dung news to deflect real stories.

I know people who are democrats who refuse to watch Fox News and get all their information for CNN or MSNBC, and conversely, conservatives who do the same with Fox News. Look at it like this; if a couple goes to a marriage counselor and the counselor says she will only listen to the wife then later comes to the conclusion the husband is the problem…well you get the picture. This is what happens if you get your news from only the left or the right sources. Balance is needed if one wants to know what is really going on in the world today. True journalism is….dead!

Mexico’s HOMEX Scandal: Greed can be defined by the HOMEX homes for millions of working class Mexicans project. The program began in 2001 and by 2017 it has achieved the creation not of solid middle class communities, but rather over 1 million decrepit, hazardous, and worthless homes in new slum communities. The story can be found in / LA Times Richard Marosi HOMEX /, you won’t believe what you read!

The Tax Cut: The Republicans and President Trump passed the Tax Bill! “Hallelujah”…or “Oh No”… depending on your political point of view and or which Fake News channel you are influenced by. Listen to CNN and you will end up believing the millionaires have been rewarded at the expense of the working man or woman. Listen to Fox and you will think Robin Hood scored one for the people of Sherwood Forest.

The tax cut will be good for us, but there is a catch. Will the economy boom to the point where it begins to pay down the debt or will it stagnate and see the debt increase faster and faster? Time will tell, but I have to say it is well worth the gamble. Looking at the positives in American business and the stock market this past year I believe this bill will pay dividends in the form of bigger paychecks for working Americans.

The Vietnam War Film: There is much to criticize in the Ken Burns PBS Vietnam War series. In one of the later chapters of the documentary film the following statement was made regarding civilian casualties;

“The killing of innocent civilians happens in every war. In Vietnam it was not routine, but it was not an aberration either”. The civilian casualty count for the Vietnam War is not black and white. The Vietnam War is officially listed as being from 1955-1975. The American participation was from 1960-1975. Estimated Civilian Deaths are broken up by those in the South and those in North. The deaths are not listed as by which side, but just total war deaths.

Vietnam Civilian Casualties: 1955-1975 / South Vietnam Civilian Deaths: Between 195,000-430,000. There is debate over the exact amount because the Vietcong in the South dressed as civilians and blended in with civilian communities. North Vietnam Civilian Deaths: Listed as 60,000.

World War II Civilian Casualties: 1939-1945 / Civilian Deaths: Between 32,246,500 and 49,532,200 million deaths. The deaths are not listed by which side, just total deaths.

These numbers for both wars are estimates and do not include the later collateral deaths from things like displacement, starvation, sickness, and disease. These magnified the WWII civilian war deaths by more than double pushing them up near 85 to 90 million civilians!

Tiger’s Back: After watching Tiger Woods performance in this weekends Hero Challenge it is safe to say “Tiger and his back….are back“! He played very well except for on Saturday but still managed to finish tied for 9th place. More importantly though he played well, swung well, and was competitive. Way to go Tiger!